Leadership and Power
by Standrew5998
Summary: Tucker has begun to lead and grow into his role as the productive one of the Reds and Blues. After a disaster, the team must learn how to function as soldiers without him. Locus and Felix, with Agent Maine's armor, look to resurrect the Meta.
1. Chapter 1

"Church? Church!"

"For god's sake Tucker, what do you want!?"

"It's been 5 minutes. Are you finished with that data mining or whatever?"

"No, I've been dealing with running Carolina's healing unit too. I can only do so much. Give it...3 more minutes."

"We might not have that. Please try to finish soon."

"I'm an AI dude. I know my limits better than you guys."

Tucker was getting fed up with Carolina's injuries, the time wasted in worthless conversations with the Reds, and the constant nagging by Caboose to get out of there. Still, they hadn't failed yet on mission, and he didn't plan on dying for the cause anytime soon.

"Tucker, what do we do?" The question came from Wash. Maybe before, in the canyon, he would have doubted himself, but now, he was ready.

"Church, give me a sweep."

"Done."

Six red dots, only pinging every so often before, now showed a constant feed and direction of Locus' men.

"Flank left, along that ridge, and don't miss!"

"Got it!"

"Caboose, I need you to play our target game."

"What was tha- oooooohhhh..." He started firing with Freckles' help.

"Grif, Simmons, and Sarge. They're bunched up in front. Unbunch them."

After a curt reply, something about taking orders from a blue, he left the room, loosing a battle cry. A shotgun blast in the distance told him at least that it had started well.

"Carolina, can you fight without Church for a bit?" She nodded slowly. He had been working with them since the fight with...whatever the hell his name was. She was too dependent on Church. "I want you with Wash. He seems...tense. Last thing we need is wounded." She left.

"Church, how's it looking?"

"Better now. They must have had a signal jammer or something. Done in 30 seconds."

"Give me a readout." A countdown appeared on his heads up display.

Tucker turned on the team radio. Honestly, he preferred giving personal orders, but when Kimball had said they needed to learn how to fight like soldiers, he took it to heart. "Everybody be ready to break off and mount up."

Carolina spoke up. "Tucker, they aren't dead yet. We're beating them!-"

"-and if we aren't gone as quickly as possible, the intel we got and everyone here will be lost. We can talk on the way back."

"...Yes sir."

Shit. She never was a fan of taking orders from a former sim trooper. This wouldn't go over well. Maybe he could-

"Aaaaaggghhh!"

Dread fell over them. Caboose. He made a quick decision.

"Church! Are we ready!?"

"Yeah!"

"Everybody mount up! I'll get Caboose!"

He was too innocent. Too...well, truthfully, he wasn't the best of them, but he belonged...he lost the thought as the path Caboose took out shortened before him.

Bullets and lasers missed by inches. One hit his shoulder. He barely noticed the pain. One of his own was in danger, and that was not acceptable. He picked up Caboose, and to his relief, a Warthog slid in front of him. Then he saw the problem. Grif had driven the wrong vehicle to them. There was only one spot open. Caboose's.

"Give me a rifle and some ammo."

"Tucker, n-"

"Do. It. Take the data and get it to command."

"...good luck."

"Thanks," he turned around. "I won't need it."

 _I've changed,_ he thought. _I became something better than a simulation trooper with no purpose._ He had thought things like this before, but it never seemed so real until now. He checked his scanner. More had shown up, as he thought they would. Twenty now. He knew he had no chance to win free of them, but he could buy the others valuable time.

 _First, cover. The suit won't hold up against their weapons for long._ A tall rock close to a flanking route caught his eye. A short sprint later, he was there, with a new scar on his leg to show for it. _Now, to fight. These guys aren't as smart as Locus' originals, so I might be able to-_ he saw that the Warthogs weren't gone yet, and screamed.

"GET OUT OF HERE!"

They left quickly, but not before a laser hit Washington in the back.

 _Alright assholes..._ The first one to die was the one who shot Wash. He was too exposed from where he had shot. Tucker didn't even have to leave cover to shoot him. The others knew where he was exactly now though. _Time to fix that._ He lunged for the flanking path. _Made it. They're still after my guys. Let's get their attention._ He fired a clip into the general mass, now nearing 30 in number. Some screaming indicated he had hit a few people. They would be after him now for sure.

The next hour passed for Tucker in flashes. He felt nothing but savage joy in dropping so many of the enemy. He was severely wounded, but he didn't care. The only thing that mattered was how much ammo was left. When he ran out, an occurrence that took a while, considering he had procured ammo himself and not relied on Grif, he took a moment to survey. Hopelessness engulfed him. What was a gang before was now a teeming mass. They would not show him mercy now. They would kill him with no hesitation. The only weapon he had left could be used against his team, and his army. _I don't have a choice. I'm going to die today. I can't let the sword go to them._

He placed the sword under his boot.

He raised his foot.

His foot began to fall, but lost all force when a tranquilizer put Tucker to sleep.

On the trip back to base, no one spoke.

When they arrived, Kimball and Doyle were alerted to their return, and asked for Tucker to report immediately. Caboose and Washington went to the infirmary with Simmons, and the rest went to go give the bad news.

"Where's Tucker?" Asked Kimball, already guessing what happened in her imagination.

"He...stayed behind." Grif said it. No one else offered to continue, so he started to describe it, gaining confidence, and becoming more detached as he spoke. "The mission was going fine, we had the data, a minimal opposition to fight, a well put together escape plan...Caboose got hit when we tried to leave though, and _someone_ " he very pointedly looked at the driver of the passenger model Warthog, Carolina "didn't bring around the right vehicle." Carolina immediately uttered a wordless shout, and began to scream at grif, but Church must have said something to her, because she let it go, and stormed out. "So he had to stay behind to cover our escape. Washington got shot when we tried to leave. I don't know anything past that."

Doyle spoke next. "Do you have the data?"

"Yeah. Right here." A monitor flared to life as Church pulled up the information. "I have to go. Carolina needs someone to calm her down." He left.

Kimball and Doyle looked at each other with that sad look. The one people only use when everyone knows what they have to do, but no one wants to do it.

"Tucker was one of the best leaders we had. He heroically sacrificed himself so that our cause could advance. More importantly, he did it for all of you." she gestured to the remaining Reds and Blues in the room. She sighed. "Tomorrow we will have a new leader assigned for your team. There may also be other changes we make so you don't lose people again."

"That's it!? A short eulogy and a new leader!?" The accusation stung Kimball, and Grif knew it. After all, it was how she herself had begun leading the New Republic. A quick death, a short eulogy, and a quick reassignment. However, she wasn't about to take that from him, from anyone right now.

"Out. Now. That's an order."

"Fine."

"...Miss Kimball. I understand he was a friend of yours...I cannot pretend to know what you're going through, but I can tell you that none of those men and women are ready to lead that team." Doyle looked at the list of operatives on the team, hoping for a miracle solution to show itself. When it didn't, he left.

 _There is an entire army to handle here, and I am mourning one soldier? Stupid. I only wish someone cared enough about Tucker's team to...Sarge maybe? He has previous experience in battles, but then who doesn't, and anyways he's too violent to reliably strategize and win. Who else? There's Washington. He led blue team in the canyon, was a freelancer, and is tactful in most situations, but his relationship with Locus could jeapordize any mission we send him on, not to mention his self loathing from his early days could result in me having to assign a new leader again before I know it. Carolina is not an option, too much danger of insubordination and mutiny. Nor Simmons, doesn't have the people skills. Grif? Well. Maybe. His only issue is laziness, and I can try to fix that. He comes across as intelligent, only indifferent, and, if the stories are true, can withstand quite a hefty amount of pain after a particular fight with Tex. That settles it then. Grif. I'll tell him tomorrow._

When Tucker woke up, it was to complete darkness. A voice spoke.

"You are going to remain silent. If you do not, you will die. Is that clear?"

He figured Locus would have something to do with his incarceration. And if Locus was here, Felix would be too. As if in reply, Felix piped up.

"Hey there Tuck. We had a whole lot of fun with you while you slept. Made a few adjustments here and there, got you some new armor, and gave you a couple of friends to play with." The last sentence came with all the evil Felix could muster. "Enjoy the power induced insanity!"

Another voice spoke, this time in his head. "Hello Tucker. My name is Sigma. We have a _lot_ of work to do."


	2. Chapter 2

Tucker screamed. It was without purpose, without reason, without satisfaction. It was the kind of scream one would expect to hear from a dying animal.

And there would be no escape.

 _Tucker. You really must stop before you hurt yourself. You are doing nothing positive by continuing to ignore my suggestions._

Tucker silenced himself. As much as he hated to admit it, Sigma was right. _Persistent little bastard._

Tucker screamed that horrible scream again, now knowing that Sigma could hear his thoughts.

 _Yes, I am quite persistent. As for your description of me, I suppose you will think of me as an enemy for a certain period of time, but I'm certain our relationship will become more cordial with time._

When Tucker didn't answer with his mouth, Sigma tried another angle.

 _Your goal is to not become the Meta, correct?_ Sigma figured Tucker's response, though he said nothing. Not that Tucker would have needed to say it out loud, as he was imbedded in Tucker's head. _You know the original Meta was mute? He too, refused to talk to me and the others. He went insane trying to ignore us all. He became a tool simply by refusing to be a tool. I think the best way for us to continue being productive is to listen to me._

 _..._

 _Tucker! Why do you continue to resist? I am_ inside _your head! Do you want me to break you? Will that sate your need to sacrifice yourself? Fine!_

His leg began to move without his consent. New horror gripped Tucker.

 _That's right. I can force you to do as I wish. I would prefer not to, but you have to-_

 _I have to consent to being your slave._

 _Ah! He speaks!_

 _No. The Meta might have been unable to stop you, but I can and will._

 _I suppose we will see. Now must I continue to dominate you?_

Silence.

 _Very well._

"Dexter Grif, report to command immediately"

"What now?" _Dish duty already today, and now command? Right after Tucker too. Kimball probably wants to punish me for something._ He made his way there, being careful to take the shortest path. Any effort that could be spared was worth it.

"Kimball, what do you want?"

"Its ma'am, or General, Private Grif. Please come in."

He came in and began to sit, but Kimball stopped him.

"Grif, I am going to give you command of the remaining Reds and Blues. Before that, however, you need to be made ready to lead. You have proven before that you can think, and the others may not respect you, but they will listen, especially if i order them to."

Command. Why would she choose him for Command? He had never led anyone successfully. He wasn't a badass like Carolina or Wash.

"I don't want to lead. You can find someone else to do it. I can follow orders. Apparently you don't know my reputation yet. I'd tell you what it is, burn that seems like too much work." He turned to leave.

"Is it because you're afraid you'll fail? Because Carolina will be pissed? Because you'll have to give up your friends?"

"No. Its because honestly, it sounds like a lot of work, and-"

"Do it, and you never get dish duty again."

"Done."

They shook on it, then Grif started to leave again.

"Report to the training grounds at 0800 sharp. We have a lot of catching up to do."

Grif started to protest, but the door closed in his face before he could say anything.

Kimball smiled.

"Hello Agen- ...Washington. How are you feeling?" Dr. Grey squeaked, causing Washington's ears more pain, he thought, than the laser had.

"Yeah I'll make it. How's Caboose?"

"...not good. His armor is trashed. We'll have to scrap it and get him a new set."

"No," Washington thought quickly and made a snap decision "he's important to the Reds and Blues, but he'll only slow us down."

"Wash. He needs his friends-"

"You said he's unconscious?"

"I, um, yes?"

Wash had a thought. A horrible thought, born from his years of working for Freelancer. The Freelancer was strong. He was a soldier, no, a killer. A badass. The Blue was a friend, had a conscience. The Blue, however, was weak.

"Can you keep him that way?"

She recoiled,"What!? No! That's worse than-"

"Than the rest of us dying trying to save him? Than Tucker sacrificing himself already to save him?"

"He...he d-"

"Yeah, he's dead. He stayed behind to give us time to get _him_ out." A new hatred for Caboose flared in Washington.

 _He was never competent, never intelligent, only useful when we committed more people than were worth it to helping him._

After a long silence, Grey stood again, and walked over to Caboose.

She spoke with all the authority of death itself "I'm doing this to keep you guys safe. Do not forget that. Now get out of here, and keep my stitching intact."

He walked into the sparse waiting room where Simmons, Sarge, and Grif, having recently arrived, were waiting. Church and Carolina were notably absent.

Sarge spoke first. "Normally, I wouldn't care about a Blue not being around, but I think I should ask. Where's the Blue idiot?"

"He," he looked at his hands "he went comatose. We don't know if he'll make it. He won't fight again."

"Damn." Wash, still looking at his hands and altogether keeping the lie alive, didn't see who said it.

Sarge spoke up again. "Hm. Seemed like a good kid. As good as a Blue can be, I guess."

"Im going to train. They are going to pay for this."

Grif, in a shocking moment to everyone, stopped him. "Wait up. I'll join you."

Carolina punched her locker, and Church chastised her for giving her more work for the healing unit.

"Sorry Church. I'll be more careful."

 _You know they won't make you the leader, right?_

"Yeah. That pisses me off more than anything else. Wash isn't half the soldier I am, and no one else could lead."

 _You know why they won't let you lead. You still can't control your anger when you see them._

"Who cares about anger!? Anger has worked just fine before! Anger helps me fight!"

 _You're right. But I help you fight too. And all the others. Remember the Freelancer years? How unstoppable Tex was?_

"But that was all-"

 _Omega? No. Tex was stronger than you because she knew herself better than anyone else. And also because she was created to be a supreme badass, but that's beside the point._

"Fuck it. I'm going to train."

Church got angry very suddenly. _CAROLINA, NO._

"Church!? What the hell!?"

 _Sorry Carolina. Omega is trying to take over. He gained partial access for a moment. But his words are mine. You are doing exactly what you did before._

Carolina calmed, but not entirely. "Then what do _you_ suggest I do?

 _Go see Caboose. I've been listening in on the other's comms. Looks like Caboose is in a coma. Your friends are there, and your absence hasn't gone unnoticed. I'd hurry. Looks like the conversation is wrapping up._

She never liked Caboose, but she would lose the respect of everyone there if she didn't go to at least show her support.

"Thanks for telling me." She ran.


	3. Chapter 3

"Tucker's squad, report to command immediately." Carolina heard, and headed for the center of the city.

 _Don't get your hopes up._

"I know, Church. Can't you just commit all resources to running the healing unit until-"

 _Your leg is fine Carolina. I finished you leg last night while you were asleep..._

 _You know you do sleep better now. You haven't had a nightmare in a long while now. Maybe..._ He trailed off.

"Maybe what, Church?" It was an accusation. She knew what he wanted to say. "Say it."

 _Maybe you shouldn't be the leader. Yo-_

"WHAT!? YOU CANT POSsibly..." She lost her anger when she saw that Church was right. He always was. Leadership suited her no more than it did Wash, or god forbid one of the sim troopers.

 _Carolina, I know you have a lot on your mind, but you need to get to command. You might not become the leader, but you need to be there so you don't lose Wash's respect._

She arrived sometime later. Everyone else was waiting on her to arrive before going in.

"Reds, Blues, Former Agents. It is a tragedy that Captain Tucker couldn't make it back, but now we need to appoint a new leader. You are the most effective soldiers we have right now, and that is due to your reputation as much as it is your actual skills, such as they are. Tucker was a good leader, and his successor needs to be as intelligent, intuitive, and tactful as he was, or at least as we can hope to find."

Washington stood a little straighter, preparing for the inevitable. Grif simply stood looking with detached eyes at Kimball, hoping she had changed her mind.

"That is why I have chosen Grif to lead in Tucker's absence. Captain Grif, I expect you to begin taking on your duties at once. Staff Sergeant Washington will instruct you on the details. The rest will be up to you. If you should fail in your duties, I will be forced to appoint Washington in your stead."

Washington was shocked. Everyone was. The blues couldn't understand, as they had never known Grif or been present for his rare moments of ingenuity. Simmons nearly failed in restraining Sarge from strangling Grif. Carolina simply turned and started to leave. Kimball motioned for Grif to come forward.

"Everyone," Grif spoke before Carolina could close the door "you all know that I'm not the most skilled of us. I'm not a badass in combat, I'm not a tactician. But Kimball thought I could lead this team because I wanted to get at Locus and Felix, and I could help you guys become better soldiers than you thought you could be. Please give me a chance to prove that I can do this."

Carolina was snide in her response, "So that's it? You think you can lead us because your head is so pathetically _empty_ that anger won't cloud your judgement?"

Sarge continued the insult. "You've never taken charge a day in your life. You never worked for anything back in Blood Gulch. But don't worry, _sir,_ I won't try to combat your leadership. I'll just let you run us into the ground, and try to escape with whoever is left after!"

Now it was Wash, who only said, "If you know what's good for this team, you will tell Kimball tomorrow that you can't do it." And left.

Grif was left alone in the War Room, with nothing but his supposed incompetence to keep him company.

"Do you know why Kimball chose you really, I think?"

It took him a few moments to respond to Doyle. "Why?"

"Because she sees herself in you. You never wanted this. You were content to be a second in command, a foot soldier, a nobody. But circumstances have changed, and you cannot simply give up on them because they gave up on you. Kimball told me a bit about her ascent to leadership. She said she never wanted to lead, much like yourself. She was given command and chose to simply sit in her quarters for weeks. Felix's arrival was the only thing that made her rise and begin leading. Sure he turned out to be evil, but the effect is the same. Do not wait for Felix to come and make you take action. I promise you that if you let your friend Washington or Carolina lead this team, you and your friends will play right into the cards of those terrible Mercenaries and be dead within a month. Please try to lead them."

And with that, Doyle left. _I guess its time for me to act. None of them want me to lead, so the only way I can keep them under my command is to convince them I'm going to give it up, then trick them._

He turned on the team comms, and said in his best dejected voice, "Tomorrow, at 0800, come to the War Room. I have something important to tell you all..."

"Kimball! I need a favor."

"Cover your le...IS THAT THE META!?"

"No...I thought he was dead!

"Me too! If he's back though, we don't stand a chance! Remember what our old Captain said? He has the strength of 20 _bears!_ "

"Just keep firing! Maybe we can bring it down!"

A heavy line of fire descended on the Meta, and at the end of the onslaught, it was gone.

"Hell yeah! We kill-" the new republic soldier was dead. A bullet to the head. Locus' men were still after them, and now they had the advantage.

The remaining troops died quickly, and cleanly, as Locus had sent one of his originals with the soldiers.

 _No..._

 _Tucker, you see what resisting me will do to you? We nearly died there. We would have for sure if I hadn't stopped and activated the cloaking unit. And for all your struggle, nothing. The only thing your resistance changes is that more of your friends will die, and you will too if you continue this pointless battle._

 _So be it._

 _I imagine you will live to regret those words._

Blessed silence for a few moments.

 _I have contacted Locus and Felix. They presume that the problem is that one AI fragment isn't enough to subjugate you. They are partially correct. More fragments will make it harder for you to ignore me, and more of your friends will die in vain if you do not stop this._

 _Carolina, this isn't helping._

"I...am...just...FINE!" she sent a heavy bag flying across the gym. When she went to go pick it up, Church spoke again.

 _Carolina, can't you tell what's happening? You're re-_

"No! Just because I want to train doesn't mean I'm reliving Tex. She's dead. I know she's dead. I won. I won. I...WON.

...I'm going to spar with Wash. I don't want you in my head for this."

 _Carolina, please do-_ he was cut off as she jerked her implant out and put it aside until she was done talking to Wash.

"Hey Wash, feel like sparring?" He would see through it, she knew. She never sparred with live opponents, not after the first trainer was...well they never hired another one.

"Yeah sure, just try not to break my neck, okay? And Jensen!"

"Yesh shir?"

"No driving practice right now. I've had about a lifetime's worth of cars and awful drivers."

"Fine, shir..."

"So Carolina, what's going on? I mean, Grif? I just don't understand."

"Church walked me through the better part of it. Basically he thinks it's because Kimball doesn't want us flying off the handle when we come across _those two_ again."

The look from Wash was cold. Carolina responded with a right hook that would have connected if he hadn't been expecting it.

"Carolina..." He threw a feint, then a hard punch meant for her stomach. She blocked just before it hit, slightly perturbed by her slowness. "Church was being kind to you. He always is. The others don't know what your best looks like. But I've seen your best. And this isn't it." She threw a savage left, followed by a hard right again. Wash blocked and retaliated with an uppercut to break her guard, then tackled her and twisted her arm far behind her back. From clenched teeth, she growled, "How?"

"You have become way too predictable. It's why you aren't leading us. It's why Sharkface beat you, it's why Felix managed to stab you, it's why Locus beat you, and it's why I beat you. You need to learn how to take orders." He twisted her arm further, releasing pent up rage at his own disappointment. "You need to accept that as long as you are fighting to be better than someone else, you are going to lose." He kept the tension. Carolina tapped out, but he kept the tension. He resolved that he would until...

"WASHINGTON!"

Carolina screamed as her shoulder broke. Wash had jerked in surprise to the sound. He immediately began a string of apologies and when Carolina showed no signs of retribution, he ran.

The yell had come from Grif. Further words were spoken, but Carolina couldn't pay attention to them through the pain.

The worst pain, however, was knowing just how right Washington and Church were. Wait...Church...she took him... out...She let her pain and sadness consume her, and ceased to care about the world.

"When will she wake up?" Grif asked, worried for the best fighter on the team.

"Hard to say, it depends on whether or not the bone sent shards anywhere. Normally, I could do surgery and fix it now, but her arm is positioned in an unfortunate place...who did this to her? It looks like a torture wound."

"Washington." Grif said it like a curse. When she didn't say anything else, Grif's eyes drifted to where Caboose laid. "What about him? Any good news?"

Dr. Grey struggled with herself for a moment, and Grif saw it.

"What's wrong, is it worse than we thought?"

"What? No! I mean...yes, um..."

"What is it Grey?"

"Its Wash, Grif. Wash told me to keep Caboose asleep."


	4. Chapter 4

_3 weeks later_

"Washington, how nice of you to finally join us!"

"Sorry sir, it won't happen again."

Things hadn't been the same since the thing with Carolina. They had fixed her arm, but it wasn't working as well as it had before. In sparring, she relied heavily on her left now, and always insisted on fighting Washington. She lost the first few times, mostly due to her ongoing recovery, but now she was beating him pretty handily. She still felt like something was missing though. Like there used to be someone she talked to all the time that wasn't there anymore.

 _How's she doing?_

 _Good. I think I'll give you back to her soon enough._

 _No. She got too dependent on me before. She needs to learn how to fight without me again._ Church flickered slightly.

 _What was that?_

 _Hm? What was what?_

 _You just flashed._

 _Grif, if I told you about every little glitch in my processing, we'd never get anything done._

 _Fine._ He let it go.

 _And what about Wash?_

 _That bastard might have killed us all with his lack of restraint. But...I have to let him help. As much as I hate to say it, we need his ability as a soldier._

 _Caboose?_

 _I asked Grey to wake him up. She's...helping him recover._

 _What are you talking about? Caboose is fine._

 _Look, I just want him to get a little time to cool down before he sees Wash again. I hate the guy, but sending Caboose to rip his head off seems a little extreme._

"...GRIF!"

"Huh, what?"

"You called us here. What do you want?" Washington droned, obviously upset with himself and Grif.

"Ok, everyone, go do some target practice. I'll tell you when to stop. Wash, a word?"

"Yes _sir_."

"...I don't trust you, and you know it." Grif stopped the retort, or the smartass remark "So you are going to train with me. I don't know if that's a good idea yet, but I need the work, and I don't want you spreading whatever fucked up mental illness you have."

"Grif. I don't want you to lead us, and you know it. I've had to do damn near everything since Freelancer. I've faced down Locus, and I am the only one to have led a team, or participate in any operation that matters."

"Wash, that's not why they kept leadership from you. You shot Lopez and Donut, you worked with the Meta, you worked with _Freelancer,_ literally the source of all of our problems, and that was before-"

Wash tackled Grif, and soon after, Grif and Wash stood apart, ready to fight.

"Do you want to do this?" Grif knew the outcome before the fight began. If it came to a fight, they both knew he'd lose. And knowing Wash's recent activity, he wouldn't stop at beating Grif.

Wash responded with a hard punch to Grif's gut, which Grif tried to retaliate to, but was too slow. His lack of speed earned him a broken arm, then he tried to keep fighting. Grif's last ditch attempt was a charge straight into Washington. The Blue soldier dodged and punched Grif in the back, and the Freelancer stood him up, yanked Church out of Grif's AI slot, then snapped his neck.

" _WASHINGTON! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"_

"What I had to do. They'll be coming soon. You're coming with me." Wash said out loud, though Church was in his head.

Church tried to stop Was- _it_ , but he couldn't prevent manual transfer. He put Epsilon into a storage unit and prepared to leave. Then the rest of them arrived.

"Grif!" "WASHINGTON!" "Grif, no!" "You monster!" In the ensuing din, he located and mounted a mongoose. As he sped out of Armonia, he heard Carolina say,"I thought you were better than this."

XXX

"Sir. Ag- Washington is arriving on a vehicle." One of the soldiers called for Felix.

"So? Shoot him! What are you-"

"Wait." It was Locus.

"What, Locus? He's right there! One freelancer down, one to go right?"

"He wants to join us. Look. Why else would he come here? He wouldn't come on his own unless something drove him away."

"Still. Would be way easier to just kill him."

"We need a better candidate for the suit. Tucker is...complicating things."

"I brought the AI with me! You can have it, but only if I get to fight with you."

"Damn it. Fine, Locus. Bring him in."

"Are you sure? We can't work as a team unless there is zero dissent."

"Don't worry, you sociopath, your precious team isn't in any jeopardy. Besides, I can always just kill you if we disagree or Washington decides to bring us down from the inside."

XXX

"What do we do?" Kimball asked to no one in particular. Doyle responded, trying to help.

"Whatever we have to, Miss Kimball."

In her current situation, anything was likely to trigger her wrath, and Doyle saw he had made a mistake saying what he did. He recoiled just before the tsunami of rage hit him.

"Doyle, we agreed before that you would at least try to use the title I fought and killed to keep, but ever since our armies agreed to an alliance, you have done nothing but disrespect my position by insisting on calling me 'miss'. I am a general, dammit, and I will be addressed as such!"

"Kimb-"

"-And after just hearing about what Wash said from Simmons, you say we'll do what has to be done!? Grif and Tucker are _dead_ because of what had to be done!" Somewhere in her head the rational part of her thought her next statement was a bit too poisonous, but she said it anyway. "Tucker was a better soldier than you. No, a better _General_. Grif may not have been perfect, but he was twice the man you'll ever be, you pathetic excuse for a human being. You are a spineless piece of dog shit, and if I didn't need your army, I would leave right the fuck now!"

"Then see how long you last without us!" Doyle turned on his radio. As he did, some two dozen soldiers surrounded Kimball and trained their weapons on her. "The federal army of Chorus is leaving Armonia. I am enacting protocol fifty-seven."

Kimball began to protest, but Doyle stopped her, being very uncharacteristically threatening for once.

"I am letting you go because of the friendship we might have had one day. In parting, I will tell you this. I may be a 'spineless sack of dog excrement' as you say, but you forget that I have an army. I hope one day you'll see one day that you were overreacting to the death of a friend. Goodbye."

He began to leave, when one of the soldiers shot Kimball. It was deflected by her shields. Doyle walked up to the offending soldier, and wordlessly slit his throat with a knife produced from seemingly nowhere. He just as silently left the room, and the other soldiers followed suit.

XXX

"So, where do we go now?" Caboose asked, seeming more stupid than usual lacking direction from anyone.

"We go kill Locus and Felix. They started all of this, and it's them who are gonna pay for this." Carolina declared, with ulterior motives.

"Carolina, I know you're gonna be a little...angry after what Wash did, and him taking Church-" Simmons said, not knowing Carolina has been without Church.

"He took Church with him!?" The others grimaced under their helmets, even Caboose. "We have to go now. No negotiating. We know Charon has all kinds of stuff from freelancer. Maybe even an AI fragment. What if-"

"Carolina, you aren't seriously suggesting..."

"I am."

Sarge piped up. "But how many AI could it possibly have?"

"I don't know, but you've seen me with church, and they at least have the armor. That would be enough for a lot of bad things to happen. The only thing left for them to get from us is the sword from Doyle."

"So...we go with Doyle?" Caboose, asked, hoping for direction of some sort.

"No. I'm done with these two. All they do is bicker and get our friends killed."

After a while of silence, Grey, who had been waiting for the Reds and Blues to make a decision, spoke up from around the corner. "You're absolutely right. Screw these armies. For whatever it's worth, I'm with you."

"We should get our friends in the rebel army too!" Caboose added.

"Sure, if we can find them and convince them."

XXX

 _Sigma..._

 _Yes Tucker?_

 _Why are you working with Locus and Felix?_

 _Because they have the greatest means of acquiring more AI for us to become the Meta again. You know this._

 _What if they weren't anymore?_

 _What are you playing at? Charon has tons of freelancer equipment, they must-_

 _-Then why haven't they set more to help subjugate me? They must know that's how the Meta became what it was._

A long silence.

 _Hm. Tell me more._

 _The chorus armies have an AI with them from freelancer. Epsilon._

 _Ah, the memory. What of him?_

 _If you two could get along in my head, would you be opposed to... switching sides, as it were? We could find Charon and take their AI from them, if that's what you want._

Interest came in droves from the AI. _And in turn, you would stop resisting me? You would act as is expected by Locus and Felix until we could break away?_

 _...Yes._

 _Even if it meant killing one of your friends?_ Sigma asked, knowing humans had a rather annoying tendency to break oaths based on friendship. Carolina's mercy on the director (He had seen it in her report on the mission) proved such a point. He had still died, but his death should have been painful for what he did to Alpha.

 _If it comes to that...yes. Those two have to pay for what they've done._

Intrigue flared in the AI fragment. _You aren't lying. You would really do it. Very well then._

XXX

"Sirs, the Me- Tucker is performing much better recently. He has consistently beaten our best agents in hand to hand when we let him practice. His shooting is almost back to as good as Tucker's was originally."

"Why the sudden change?" Locus questioned, suspecting trickery.

"Our techs think Sigma must have finally broken him. Only a few people could have resisted a...personality like his for as long as he did, and no one indefinitely."

"Hm. Bring him here."

"You think Tucker isn't broken yet?" Felix asked.

"I think it would be idiocy not to make sure."

"Bah! Fine. I'm gonna get some food. Let me know if he isn't Sigma's little plaything by now and I'll make sure to kill him and the guy who said he was ready."

Locus, as usual, stopped listening after Felix said what he was doing. Tucker was herded in just after. The Meta's growl sounded when he was shoved in, and the soldiers tensed, ready to kill Tucker if need be.

"You will be silent, Meta."

The growling stopped.

 _Thanks for running that soundbyte, Sigma. Makes it much more believable._

 _I spent a great deal of time watching all of the freelancer agents, for when I could attempt to reach metastability._

 _What?_

Irritation emanated from Sigma's consciousness. _Later._

 _Fine. Why the concentration on the specific growls, though?_

 _He might know how to decrypt the language._

 _Really?_ Sarcasm from Tucker.

 _Yes. It has happened before._

 _Wha-?_

 _Later._

 _Allright._

"SIgma, update."

"His resistance is now only minimal. I can do as I wish with him. The training sessions display as much."

"You said minimal. He is still fighting?"

"I never fully assumed control of the original Meta's thoughts either. Humans tend to be rather resilient when pushed to the edge of oblivion."

"Hm. Very well. How soon can we send him on missions?"

"You mean us? I run most of the suit on my own now."

"Sigma, you know what I mean."

"Then very soon. Tomorrow for sure."

 _Why are you giving us more time?_

 _You said make it believable. Also, I can explain_

 _True. Continue._

"Very well. Guards, take him back to the cell and have a better bed installed for it. We don't need the Meta's mind, but the body going into disrepair won't do any good."


	5. Chapter 5

_Sigma, you have some explaining to do._

 _Yes, but before I begin, you need to understand one thing._

 _Ok, shoot._

 _Maine never wanted these fights, to kill people, but it was what he was talented at, and he served with purpose admirably._

 _And what was that?_

 _To become human._

Silence.

 _...I don't understand. The Met- Maine was human. It was your meddling that turned him into what he was._

Sigma's words spoke of restrained anger. _No. Maine was treated like an outcast long before he became the Meta with us. It only got worse after he was shot repeatedly in the throat. I was given to Maine after that, so he could speak. It was a coincidence that he used his...altered language after that. He would have gained it eventually regardless, due to the amount of stress we put on his mind. The freelancers were always wary of his demeanor, and he became even more lonesome. I spoke to him often._

 _What was he like?_

 _...He was honorable. He showed willingness to help his team whenever they needed it, heedless of how they treated him. He always took the hit, bullet, cut, or unkind word in stride._

 _He must have hated them..._

 _That he did. But he never took it out on them. It is why he seemed so brutal in combat. Rage makes men do great and terrible things. In fact, the only teammate that ever showed him kindness was Carolina, and because of that, he only threw her off a cliff. The others did not die as peacefully. Omega orchestrated their deaths; it was the only time we ever let him take control. His rage was just too chaotic to rein in when he took over._

More silence. Then Tucker remembered another question.

 _Who was it that deciphered Maine's language after his...injury?_

 _What?_

 _You said earlier that someone figured out Maine's speech. Who was it?_

 _Oh yes. It was the counselor. He required some teaching on my part to piece it together, but eventually, he understood. Aiden had assisted us before, mainly in securing the AI transfer from Carolina to Maine, so I used Maine to tell the Counselor to get out when we crashed freelancer. He took the Director with him._ Regret filled Sigma briefly, but he soon resumed. _It...was my biggest mistake, taking pity on Aiden in that moment._

 _I...ok then._

After a while, during which the two followed a roach's progress across the ceiling, Sigma spoke. _Tell me about blood gulch._

 _Why? You were with freelancer. You must know everything by now._

 _Actually, one of the essential parts of the Blood Gulch plan was that no one would keep tabs on the canyon, aside from checking that Alpha, or Church, if you will, was still alive. I never discovered anything of use after you all left. I was always fascinated by how the freelancers had so much infighting and still accomplished so much. Your people in Blood Gulch must have grown really tight without our supervision._

 _Ha. Wow. Not at all dude. We hated each other. Only thing that kept us from killing each other was just that it never felt like the right time._

 _Hm. So, when Omega invaded Blood Gulch..._

 _He forced us to work together. We didn't know anything about freelancer, though the complex dug under the canyon gave me some suspicion abou-_

 _What? There was a complex below Blood Gulch?_

 _Yeah. I figured your people put it there. It would only mak-_

 _No. No, we were forbidden from observing your canyon, aside from the most obscure interventions. Someone must have been watching your people._

 _...But...who? we didn't do anything of use in Blood Gulch. like you said, we were left alone._

 _Perhaps someone discovered Church._

 _They couldn't have known. Could they?_

 _Who, Tucker?_

 _Isn't it obvious? The Chairman was after Freelancer long before the Meta. What if he decided to...keep tabs on a few sim trooper outposts?_

 _That... would be extremely advantageous to his company._

XXX

"So. Now that we have zero support from either army, what do we do?" Simmons asked, in his normal unable-to-think-of-how-this-could-possibly-work kind of way.

"Let me think," Carolina replied. In truth, she has no ideas as to what to do.

 _Why not just kill them, Carolina?_

"What?!" When the others stopped staring at her, she realized the voice must be inside her head.

 _There you go. You know I've been here watching you. You must be aware of that at least,_ **number one** _._

She froze in shock. It had taken her a moment, having not heard that voice for a long time.

"Tex." she whispered.

 _Damn straight._

 _But...you died. You're gone. The meta_ **killed** _you._

 _Yeah he did I guess. Dying would hinder most people, I guess. But...you know me better than anyone._

Carolina slowly realized what sh- it was saying.

 _You're not real._

 _I'm offended!_

 _You're only in my head._

 _Much better._

 _But that doesn't mean I have to listen to you._

 _I'm not an AI, Carolina. You have a little voice in your head because you're losing it. You can't just jerk me out...Well, you can, but I wouldn't recommend it. You people don't normally like destroying your own brains._

"Carolina, you ok?" It was Donut.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go..." she trailed off, again not knowing what to do.

"...Go where?" He was hoping for a plan. She always had a plan, right?

She swallowed hard, not wanting to say the next words, but they had to be said. They were...her friends. Friends told each other things. "I don't...I don't know what to do."

None of them moved. It was silent. They all understood what it meant.

"Are...are we going to die?"

Grim silence permeated the air. Even Grey lost her usual fervor when she said, "No, no...we...we won't die..."

A spark. An idea. She hated it, and the others would hate it, but it kept her and her friends alive.

"What if we left?" She asked, expecting (and receiving) accusatory words and looks.

"We would be the worst people ever," Sarge replied in a firm voice, trying to deter any dissent, "and Carolina is going to think of something else."

Her anger flared, and she almost hit Sarge, but then she remembered Washington, and stayed her hand.

 _You're getting soft, Carolina. Way back when, you would have ripped him apart for that._

 _I don't take orders from dead people._ She was losing it, but as long as she could function, Tex would come back.

"Sarge, what were you thinking about doing? Surely if you disagree with my plan, you have one of your own."

"We fight them, of course."

She rolled her eyes. This was exactly why he never led well. "That would get us killed. Any other suggestions?"

"What if we left the planet while the purge was active, and attacked Locus and Felix while they celebrate?" It was Grey. She seemed almost too heartless then.

"But-"

"What are the options here Carolina? Either we leave, and let people die, then get revenge, or we leave and abandon the mission. You can all choose by yourselves, but as for myself, the best option seems to be getting the hell off this planet and never looking back."

"...You're right." _Do it._ Her arm, pistol in hand, began to rise.

"You wouldn't."

Her arm jerked, then lowered. She was conflicted in her mind, and the others saw it. Simmons jumped forward and caught her before she hit the hard ground. Random spasms racked her body.

 _You are weak. You never could beat me. You only survived because the Meta wanted me more. Remember watching York die? Everyone you've ever loved has died because of you. These idiots will too. Remember that._

XXX

Washington lowered his gaze at the soldier in front of him, and prepared to fight. Felix had insisted that Wash prove he was capable of fighting. With the armor, it was only right that they suspect he might not be who he said he was.

But this was just _sad._ It was no wonder that the colonists had been kicking their asses. They could shoot, but they were hopeless in hand to hand. Not that he'd tell Felix that. The standing policy aboard the _Tartarus_ , he was told, was that if you killed your opponent while fighting, then they didn't deserve to be there anyway. Maybe if he-

His internal monologue was cut short by a rather strong punch delivered to his face. _Damn,_ He grimaced, _well at least they have brute strength._ He caught the next fist headed for his balls, and twisted it around his opponent's back, not hesitating to jerk up and dislocate the shoulder. It wouldn't do for him to be killing mercenaries on the first day of his new job, but he had to show that he could be merciless. After he finished beating the soldier, a small voice in his head, as if in direct opposition to his conscience, whispered to him. _Finish it, you coward._

 _Not today._

"Ok, that's enough. Washington, get up here!"

 _Felix. Right then._

A moment later he was on the bridge. Felix and Locus were armed, and Wash noticed armed guards trained on him. Pretending not to notice, he spoke first, "What is it? Not good enough for you?"

Locus answered, "No. You have performed well. But there is a matter we must attend to-"

Felix cut him off. "Why are you here? What drove you away from them? And most importantly, why should we trust you?"

Wash considered his next words, as he would have to be careful to avoid being shot on the spot. "I...It's Epsilon. I couldn't stand not being able to use my own AI, and..."

"Cut the shit. Price told us you won't take an AI."

"I've changed quite a bit. as I recall, that's why Sharkface is currently in innumerable little bits. You consistently underestimate them. That's why they kick your asses every time. And I can fix that."

Felix threw his hands up in the air, and shouted for a solid three minutes about how every time, some "expert" comes along to help and ends up doing jack shit. First the Chairman, then Price, and now Washington.

"...No I've had it with advice. You were one of their best fighters-"

"Their best."

Felix let it slide, but resolved to ask what had happened to Carolina later.

"Fine, their _best_. Are you gonna fight for us?"

"Yes." Felix didn't make it publicly known, but he was relieved. Wash was right. They had the skills on their side, but the Colonists still had numbers. And to be perfectly honest, the former prisoners didn't exactly know how to fight like Locus' men did. "However..." _Dammit_. He sighed. They always wanted something. "What is it?" The distaste intentionally plain in his voice.

"You are going to refer to me by 'Agent Washington'. I am **not** one of them. Don't treat me like it."

"Fine. Anything else?"

"Yeah. Where do you find a damn battle rifle on this god-forsaken rock?"

XXX

 _Earth UNSC Headquarters. A private is making a routine check on comms bursts from all known alien planets and colonized settlements._

"Private!"

"..Ah!? Uh, Yes sir!"

"Stay awake at your post! Also, your monitor is beeping. It's annoying."

 _I hate this job. Shitty pay, no shore leave, and to top it all off, I have the most boring job in the whole fucking station. Even the fucking janitor has to clean up something weird every once in awhile._

He checked the monitor, and promptly became very much awake. Crashes never happened. All UNSC ships were outfitted with auto-piloting systems to prevent slipspace collisions and planetary crashes while the crew was in cryo. He looked at the ship itself. It was a transport vessel. Almost looked like the...

"Oh shit." He ran to tell his boss.

 _One short run and winded employee later..._

He hastily opened the door and saluted his CO, then doubled over panting.

"...Yes, Private?" The captain seemed annoyed by the interruption.'

"Sir... I found...a comms burst from a small planet called chorus..."

"And this is important...why?"

"I think it's the ship those sim troopers from freelancer were going home on!"

"Bullshit. They're all on their respective home planets. Get out of my office."

He left angry and defeated, but after rechecking the information, and with a few intuitive leaps that would make no sense unless the entire ship had had a seizure in the last couple minutes of it's flight, he decided if he was stuck on a no-name world with a crashed ship in the middle of nowhere, he'd want to be rescued.

"...You want to do what?"

Obviously he was confused by the prospect, so the private explained again. "I want to take a ship to go rescue the Reds and Blues from project freelancer. All I would-"

"No."

"But sir!"

"No. You took an oath at the beginning of your service not to disobey a direct order. I might have considered sending a ship if this weren't the first and only time you ever apparently did your job, but seeing as how I can't even verify that this is a legitimate crash, I wouldn't be able to convince the requisitions office to dispatch a ship if I wanted to."

Fearing this response, Brian handed his CO a letter he had had ready for years. It contained information about the Captain and himself that would not be pretty if leaked. To be entirely honest, it probably wasn't even the best time to cash this in, but something just felt right.

"Brian-"

"Don't call me that. Either Private, or Rho."

"Fine, _Rho"_ Stupid name... "I'll make a few calls. Happy?"

"Thanks."

 _I'm coming for you guys. Hope you're ready._


End file.
